A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday reserved judgment in the terrorism trial of five men accused of involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The Department of State Services, DSS, arraigned the defendants, Idris Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Abubakar, on a nine-count charge bordering on terrorism and related offences.
Justice Emeka Nwite reserved judgment after counsel to both the prosecution and defence adopted their final written addresses and presented closing arguments before the court.
The judge stated that a date for judgment would be communicated to all parties, indicating that notification could come within 24 hours.
Lead prosecution counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum punishment of death, citing the gravity of the attack and the scale of casualties recorded.
Counsel to the defendants, Abdullahi Mohammad, however, asked the court to discharge and acquit his clients, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
According to court proceedings, the DSS called 11 witnesses during the trial, which commenced on August 1, 2025, in an effort to establish the allegations against the accused persons.
The court also admitted confessional statements made by the defendants after conducting a trial-within-trial to determine whether the statements were obtained voluntarily.
The Owo church attack remains one of Nigeria’s deadliest attacks on a place of worship in recent years.
At least 41 worshippers were killed during the assault on the Catholic church, while more than 140 others sustained varying degrees of injuries, according to official records presented during the proceedings.
The DSS had earlier sought accelerated hearing of the case, a request granted by the court in view of the public interest and severity of the charges.
